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8:31:43 PM Rycroft: So, you were outside a warehouse you had a key to, thanks to a precog! 8:33:38 PM Rafe: Rafe is standing behind Ella, who was looking through the door! 8:34:43 PM Ella: Ella is peeking cautiously through the barely-opened door! 8:35:47 PM Rycroft: It is super dark. 8:35:56 PM Rycroft: And smells bad. 8:37:32 PM Rafe: Rafe pinches his nose. "What's *in* there?" 8:37:32 PM Ella: Bleh. 8:38:13 PM Ella: Let's find out. 8:38:27 PM Josie: There aren't any minds there. 8:38:32 PM Rafe: It's gonna be organs, isn't it? 8:38:48 PM Ella: Ella attempts to pull shadows from the room. 8:40:08 PM Rycroft: Roll! 8:41:00 PM Ella: (( 7 )) 8:41:22 PM Rycroft: There's a lot of shadows in there. It's a warehouse. 8:43:14 PM Ella: Ella focuses on the immediate area. (say, about ten meters in.) 8:43:34 PM Rycroft: Okay? To what end? 8:44:54 PM | Edited 8:45:00 PM Ella: (she's trying to increase the ambient light level a bit, to make it easier to see.) 8:45:35 PM Rycroft: Oh. You can conjure magical globes of light now, too! 8:45:59 PM Ella: (oh, right.) 8:48:42 PM Rycroft: So, you move into the warehouse? 8:48:58 PM | Removed 8:49:16 PM Ella: This message has been removed. 8:49:39 PM Ella: Ella slinks cautiously into the warehouse. 8:50:22 PM Rycroft: Slink slink slink! The warehouse mostly empty, except for the stack of bodies piled up in the middle. 8:50:36 PM Ella: Welp. 8:51:00 PM Josie: Josie follows, and then has to turn away from the pile. 8:51:01 PM Josie: Oh god. 8:51:04 PM Rafe: Rafe follows, quietly. 8:51:16 PM Rafe: ...great. 8:51:43 PM Rycroft: Most of them are pretty old. There's about nine. 8:52:03 PM Rafe: Rafe pulls his sleeve up over his hand to cover his nose. 8:52:06 PM Josie: Rafe, are they... do they have sores on them? 8:53:26 PM Rafe: ...you... want me to look. Right. 8:53:43 PM Rafe: Rafe walks slowly towards them, just close enough to check. 8:53:59 PM Josie: ((Ah, the good old days of sexism.)) 8:54:04 PM Josie: Well, I can't. 8:54:14 PM Rycroft: Roll, Rafe! 8:54:44 PM Rafe: ((8.)) 8:55:41 PM Rycroft: Three have sores! Three have had their throats torn out. The last two don't have any wounds you can see without getting closer. 8:55:57 PM Rycroft: All of them are dressed rather nattily. 8:56:02 PM Rafe: Three. Guess three for the curse, three were eaten. 8:57:04 PM Rafe: Think this is a sort of nest or something? 8:57:11 PM Josie: Either failed experiments or... or it's not permanent. 9:00:23 PM Josie: In which case he'll just go on killing people. 9:00:33 PM Rycroft: Roll, all of you! 9:00:38 PM Josie: How old are the ones with sores? 9:00:47 PM Ella: (( 4 )) 9:00:52 PM Josie: ((5)) 9:01:15 PM Rafe: ((10!)) 9:01:27 PM Rafe: I'm an actor... not a doctor. 9:01:45 PM Rycroft: Off the main warehouse floor, you find a small office! 9:03:04 PM Josie: Josie gets the heck in there when Rafe points it out. 9:03:15 PM Josie: Josie needs to get away from the smell. She looks positively green. 9:03:40 PM Ella: Ella follows cautiously. 9:04:36 PM Rycroft: The office is cluttered with old tables covered with metal and mechanical components and a bunch of empty boxes. 9:05:33 PM Josie: ... he must have made the gadget himself? Right here. 9:05:53 PM Josie: ... and vampires must not have a sense of smell. Ugh. 9:07:19 PM Rycroft: The walls are covered with papers, covered with notes and rough schematics. 9:09:12 PM Ella: Ella brings her light over and examines the schematics. (she likely won't be able to make much sense of them, but she's curious.) 9:10:38 PM Rycroft: They apparently are diagrams he came up with for whatever gadget he's using. The notes aren't ust directions/schematics, and are covered with arcane formulae you don't really understand. There's more books, too, again, Theo's own works are in there, along with other books on magitech. 9:11:05 PM Josie: Josie frowns, and grabs a few books. 9:11:06 PM Rafe: Any idea? 9:11:18 PM Josie: No, not really. 9:11:57 PM Josie: Josie picks up some of the notes, too. "We should ask Theo. We need to find a phone. ... one out of smelling distance." 9:12:21 PM Josie: I can't tell from this if it's only temporary or if he's found a way to make it permanent. 9:12:31 PM Rafe: Well, it's better than the organs at least. 9:14:24 PM Rycroft: Roll a d10, all of you! 9:14:51 PM | Removed 9:15:21 PM Josie: This message has been removed. 9:14:59 PM Rafe: ((3.)) 9:15:12 PM Josie: (( 6-)) 9:15:12 PM Rafe: ((AHHH! KILL THE DEVIL!)) 9:15:23 PM Ella: (( 8 )) 9:16:51 PM Rycroft: You guys are hunting through the parts and notes. Ella finds a letter! It's written in french. 9:18:40 PM Ella: Ella reads a sentence of it, mispronouncing all the words horribly, then gives up. "Oh, why am I even- Do you guys know french?" 9:19:03 PM Josie: Yes, a little. I'm sure Rafe does. 9:19:06 PM Rafe: Only the very basics. 9:19:16 PM Rafe: I haven't done a lot of French. 9:19:39 PM Josie: I read it better than I speak it. 9:19:39 PM | Edited 9:19:53 PM Ella: Ella hands somebody the letter. "Here. Try deciphering this." 9:19:56 PM Rafe: Rafe takes it over to Josie so we can tag-team it! 9:21:54 PM Josie: Josie peers at it! 9:27:47 PM Rycroft: It is correspondence! Remember that? Apparently, Crispin Benedict made some inquiries to an alchemist in Paris, about the whole curse transferrance thing and how to accomplish it. He was adamant in his reply that you could build a device, but such a device would involve some pretty dark arts to but together. You might have to sacrifice a few people to keep it working. 9:28:20 PM Ella: Welp. 9:29:20 PM Josie: Sacrifices. 9:29:24 PM Josie: It runs on sacrificing people. 9:29:28 PM | Edited 9:29:34 PM Rafe: Is this word sunbathing? Oh, sacrifices. That makes more sense. 9:30:19 PM Josie: ... I'm pretty sure most vampires don't sunbathe, Rafe. 9:31:31 PM Rafe: ...probably not. 9:31:56 PM Josie: Aha. It says he has to keep sacrificing people, so it wasn't a one time thing. 9:34:05 PM Rafe: Wonderful. Ptobably this was the first time that he took anyone someone would miss. 9:34:44 PM Josie: Awful. 9:34:53 PM Rycroft: You guys hear voices from outside the office, in the warehouse! 9:35:07 PM Josie: Josie whispers: Maybe he came back here. 9:38:38 PM | Edited 9:38:53 PM Ella: Ella hides under a table or a desk or somewhere, close to the wall, and pulls shadows around herself to obscure herself from view. 9:40:03 PM Josie: Josie hides with Ella and tries to listen in! 9:41:27 PM Rycroft: I assume you put your lights out? 9:41:55 PM Ella: ((yep. ^_^)) 9:44:04 PM Rycroft: You hear the voices! Both male. They seem to have flashlights, from the rays of light that occasionally come through the door. 9:44:11 PM Rycroft: Voice 1: ....holy shit. 9:44:20 PM Rycroft: Voice 2: What? Oh. 9:44:38 PM Rycroft: Voice 1: ... that ain't good. Boss is not gonna like this. 9:45:29 PM Rycroft: Voice 2: How many? I count... nine. Looks like mostly homeless guys. 9:45:34 PM Josie: Josie thinks at Ella and Rafe: Benedict's people? Or other vampire gangsters? 9:47:28 PM Rycroft: Voice 1: ... don't look like he's here, though. 9:47:37 PM Rycroft: Voice 2: you know what they're sayin'? 9:47:41 PM Rycroft: Voice 1: What? 9:47:49 PM Rycroft: Voice 2: That he found a cure. 9:47:55 PM Rycroft: Voice 1: For his curse? 9:48:09 PM Rycroft: Voice 2: No, for the curse. To being a vampire. 9:48:16 PM Rycroft: Voice 1: ... bull hucky. 9:48:22 PM Rafe: Rafe silently raises an eyebrow. 9:48:27 PM Rycroft: Voice 2: That's what they're sayin'. 9:48:32 PM Rycroft: Voice 1: Who's 'they'? 9:50:33 PM Rycroft: Voice 2: People. The other boys searchin the city. 9:50:53 PM Josie: Josie frowns. 9:51:12 PM Josie: Josie thinks at Rafe and Ella: That doesn't seem likely. 9:51:50 PM Rycroft: Voice 1: Doubt it. Sounds like some some freak driven nuts by whatever. 9:51:55 PM Rycroft: Voice 2: Did you see that? 9:51:58 PM Rycroft: Voice 1: What? 9:52:16 PM Rycroft: Voice 2: Nothin, thought I saw.... gah! 9:52:23 PM Rycroft: Then there's the sound of a struggle! 9:52:50 PM Rycroft: Some moans! 9:52:56 PM Rycroft: Gunshots! 9:53:30 PM Rafe: Rafe ducks further. 9:54:44 PM | Edited 9:54:54 PM Ella: Ella checks her shadowy cloak for gaps, and extends it a bit further in Josie's and Rafe's direction. 9:54:54 PM Rycroft: Voice 2: Get it off me! Get it off -- 9:54:58 PM Rycroft: More gunshots! 9:55:26 PM Josie: Josie gets out of there and goes toward the gunshots! Apparently doctorates don't make you smart, guys. 9:55:57 PM Ella: Oh, drat. 9:56:40 PM Rafe: Rafe scrambles after her and tries to pull her back, whispering "You tryin' to get yourself killed?" 9:57:31 PM Josie: No, but he might be here. We're supposed to deal with him, not let him terrorize the city. 9:57:52 PM Josie: Josie resumes her attempt to go see what's happening down there. 9:58:35 PM Rafe: And how do you propose we do that? 9:59:32 PM Rycroft: You go out there! the gunshots and scuffling noises and died down! You see a guy standing there, breathing hard, with a gun in his hand, illuminated by a dropped flashlight! All the bodies that were stacked up are no longer stacked up,a nd instead are scattered around the guy. He crouches down to check on one of the bodies at his feet! 10:00:33 PM Rycroft: He does not seem to have noticed you guys yet. 10:00:57 PM Ella: ~I thought you said there were no minds in here, Josie. He looks llike he was in the body pile. 10:01:23 PM Ella: ~Maybe he's got a mindblank power? 10:01:25 PM Josie: Josie thinks: I don't know if I can feel vampire minds if they don't want me to. 10:01:46 PM Ella: ~ah. 10:01:57 PM Rycroft: One of the bodies starts to move and the guy shoots it! 10:01:58 PM Rafe: ((Is the flashlight closer to us at all?)) 10:02:00 PM Josie: Josie thinks: Who has the gadget they gave us, the antivamp one? 10:02:14 PM Rafe: ((Think Ella's got it. Or you)) 10:04:15 PM Rycroft: AFter a few moments, one of the bodies starts to move again! So he shoots it again. 10:04:28 PM Josie: Josie does not. 10:09:38 PM Rafe: Rafe slinks back into the office to grab some pens or a handful of something else light enough to throw. 10:09:43 PM Rycroft: He stands there waiting for something to move again! 10:10:05 PM Josie: Sir? Excuse me. 10:10:18 PM Ella: Ella facepalms silently 10:10:21 PM Rafe: Rafe freezes. 10:10:36 PM Rycroft: He spins toward Josie! But doesn't shoot. "Damn, you scared me. Who are you?" 10:10:52 PM Josie: I'm Dr. Black. Who are you? 10:11:20 PM Josie: ((Hey, at least Ella and Rafe are still in the office. If you still want the element of surprise you haz it.)) 10:11:34 PM Rycroft: Man: I'm Frank. ... you shouldn't be here, lady. Not a safe place to be. 10:11:57 PM Josie: Yes, I've noticed that, what with the animated corpses, and all. Who are you with? 10:12:26 PM Rycroft: Frank: You first. 10:12:56 PM Josie: The Council. We're looking for Crispin Fortunada. You? 10:13:36 PM Rycroft: He relaxes a bit. "Yeah. Same. Mr. Benedict sent us down here once we got the address." 10:14:20 PM Josie: Mmm. Who were the others? 10:14:33 PM Rafe: Rafe slowly steps out of the office with his hands visible. (No more thingies in his hands) 10:15:21 PM Ella: Ella peeks out of the office. 10:15:39 PM Rycroft: Frank: I only came in with Luke here. These things got some kind of death touch, or something. 10:16:13 PM Josie: Did they get him? 10:16:59 PM Rycroft: Frank nods. 10:17:11 PM Rafe: Sorry for your loss. 10:17:30 PM Rycroft: Frank: You guys find anything? 10:17:56 PM Josie: It might only work on vampires. They didn't seem much interested in us when we came in earlier. 10:18:19 PM Josie: And yes. The plans for the gadget he's using. 10:19:05 PM Josie: I'm pretty sure this isn't a forever process. He's going to need to keep killing to keep it up, and the sacrifices are going to keep piling up. And he's obviously not taking appropriate precautions to hide them. 10:20:29 PM Rycroft: Frank: Damn. 10:21:09 PM Rycroft: Frank: Okay. I gotta find a phone. I'd clear out if I were you. My guys are gonna come down here, clean the place out, and I'm gonna reccommend burning the place down. 10:21:37 PM Josie: All right. Let Mr. Benedict know we were here, please. 10:21:49 PM Rafe: I need a shower. 10:21:50 PM Rycroft: Frank: Will do. 10:22:02 PM Rycroft: Frank: Go on, I'll cover you in case these things get up again. 10:22:08 PM Josie: The real problem is still finding the girl. 10:22:28 PM Rycroft: Frank: Most of our guys are trying to do that right now. 10:22:33 PM Josie: She might still not be dead enough to be one of these things. 10:23:05 PM Josie: Oh? I'd thought you'd be on the Fortunada angle, as he's more likely to be exposed. 10:23:33 PM Rycroft: Frank: The lady killing everyone in her way is a bigger priority. 10:23:53 PM Rycroft: Frank: She killed three more people, drained em dry. 10:24:42 PM Josie: Are you planning to kill her? 10:26:52 PM Rycroft: Frank: If we have to. 10:27:26 PM Josie: And if you don't? 10:27:45 PM Rycroft: Frank: Then we need to get her off the streets, at least. 10:28:22 PM Josie: Josie nods. "If you contain her successfully, we can take her to one of her... cousins. You don't have to deal with it." 10:28:50 PM Rafe: Rafe raises an eyebrow. "That's a pretty long distance." 10:29:02 PM Josie: It is. We have planes. 10:29:12 PM Rycroft: Frank: What do you mean, cousin? 10:29:33 PM Josie: Another Fortunada. 10:29:45 PM Rycroft: Frank: We got Fortunadas here. 10:30:02 PM Josie: All right. Just... don't forget, she's a victim here. She doesn't know what she's doing. 10:30:23 PM Rycroft: Frank: Don't look at me. I'm just the muscle here, lady. 10:30:23 PM Josie: Crispin, on the other hand... 10:31:37 PM Josie: You're on the ground. You have a part to play; do your best. We'll do the same. Stay in contact; I'm going to have an expert review these plans to see if there's something unusual about it that could be used to trace him. 10:32:33 PM Rafe: Rafe nods. 10:33:52 PM Rycroft: He nods. 10:34:18 PM Josie: Thank you, Frank. 10:34:22 PM Josie: Josie heads back to the car. 10:34:38 PM Josie: Josie brings the books! And the plans. 10:34:47 PM Rafe: Rafe follows! 10:34:49 PM Ella: Ella helps carry things! 10:35:59 PM Rycroft: Okay! You return to the car. 10:36:29 PM Rafe: We have *got* to work on your self-preservation instinct. 10:36:59 PM Ella: As soon as possible. 10:38:03 PM Josie: ... he had a mind, what's the problem? 10:38:11 PM Rycroft: It's about eleven at night. 10:38:23 PM Rafe: Mind shields? 10:38:42 PM Josie: Not much of one. 10:38:49 PM Rafe: Are you faster than a bullet? Or the instinct to pull a trigger when you're already firing at things? 10:39:14 PM Josie: A vampire's instinct is never going to be to pull a trigger, Rafe. 10:39:38 PM Josie: He did think I looked delicious, if that helps. 10:39:40 PM Rafe: If he's already shooting at things, it doesn't take much to shoot at something else. 10:39:45 PM Josie: Josie drives back to the apartment. 10:39:50 PM Rafe: No. That does not help. 10:40:13 PM Josie: Very few people shoot at unarmed women. And I'm not faster than a bullet, but I'm definitely faster than aiming. 10:41:02 PM Rafe: Rafe frowns. 10:43:14 PM Josie: ... you're right, though. I'll be more careful. 10:44:18 PM Josie: Josie heads for the hangar where they last saw Theo! 10:44:29 PM Rycroft: So you're not going to the apartments? 10:44:44 PM Josie: ((Um. What time is it, where is he likely to be at this time?)) 10:45:27 PM Rycroft: It's eleven thirtyish. There is a good chance he's still at the Hangar working if you're not home. 10:45:42 PM Rafe: (daww)) 10:46:54 PM Josie: Josie heads for the hangar, then! 10:48:32 PM Rycroft: You find him there! 10:50:38 PM Josie: Josie gives him the stuff, including the books. 10:50:56 PM Josie: Here, we found the schematics. Is there any way we can use these to find him somehow? 10:51:22 PM Josie: Maybe a sympathetic spell of some kind? Or a finding? 10:51:53 PM Rafe: Rafe leans up against something that looks like it's not too greasy. 10:52:31 PM | Edited 10:52:46 PM Rycroft: There's not much of that! But the grabs a rag to clean his hands off and goes through the stuff. 10:53:16 PM Josie: Josie eyes Rafe. "We're going to need to get a special chair for you and keep it clean, aren't we." 10:53:43 PM Rafe: I'm not making a fuss. Just don't want my dry cleaner to cry. 10:54:26 PM Rafe: ((First drycleaning company in the US by 1879!)) 10:54:58 PM Rycroft: Theo: Ugh. This guy combined my spell matrix converter with one of Montsimmard's crystal resonators. Might as well try and build one of those television sets and jam a battery made of lincoln logs and chewing gum in there. 10:55:03 PM Josie: ((Beats using gasoline.)) 10:55:18 PM Josie: Well, it did work. 10:55:22 PM Rafe: ((Yeah, they were still using gasoline in the machines in the 30s)) 10:55:41 PM Rycroft: Theo: ... my inventions don't require constant human sacrifices. 10:55:43 PM Josie: But can we locate it, that's the question. 10:55:55 PM Josie: Obviously. 10:56:35 PM Rycroft: Theo: So I would say that it 'working' is a matter of opinion. I could probably build something. 10:58:03 PM Josie: How long would it take? 10:58:27 PM Rycroft: Theo: A couple of hours. 10:58:46 PM Rafe: Rafe yawns. 11:00:11 PM Josie: Josie looks to Rafe and Ella. "... should we wait here while he builds, or try and find more leads? I'm out of other ideas." 11:03:25 PM Rafe: You're quite a workaholic, aren't you? Both of you. 11:03:53 PM Rycroft: Theo: I was on a roll with my research. 11:05:13 PM Rafe: I think we should just let Benedict take care of it. I'm not in the mood to be shot at or eaten or dismembered or anything else they can think of. 11:05:55 PM Josie: We aren't usually here this late. 11:06:54 PM Josie: ... it is late, though. Maybe we should adjourn for the evening and meet back here at... 10 a.m. sound good? 11:07:24 PM Rycroft: Theo: ... if you're dealing with vampires, daylight is usually your friend. 11:07:43 PM Rafe: Rafe shrugs. "We can do that." 11:08:03 PM Josie: And that'll give us time to build our gadget, too. 11:08:41 PM Ella: Sleep sounds like a wonderful idea right now. 11:09:01 PM Josie: ... bed does sound nice. 11:09:17 PM Rafe: Rafe nods. 11:11:05 PM Josie: Right. 10 a.m., bring your best vampire-hunting tools. 11:12:03 PM Rycroft: Theo nods. "... the stuff at the apartment would be better to build this thing anyway." 11:12:18 PM Rafe: Good, cause we're gonna need a ride anyway. 11:12:21 PM Rafe: Rafe grins. 11:13:07 PM Josie: And I think I brought my coveralls home anyway. Can't work properly in this. All right, should we all drive back together?